Friday, January 4, 2013

Over the next few months, we will reach deadlines related to the debt
ceiling, the sequester and the continuing appropriations resolution
that has funded federal operations since October. If history is any
guide, President Obama won't see fit to engage congressional Republicans
until the 11th hour. In fact, he has already signaled an unwillingness
to negotiate over the debt ceiling. This is unacceptable. The president
should immediately put forward a plan that addresses these deadlines,
and he should launch serious, transparent budget negotiations.

The
biggest fiscal problem in Washington is excessive spending, not
insufficient taxation. Tax cuts didn't cause this problem, so tax
increases won't solve it. If we don't reduce spending and reform our
three biggest entitlement programs - Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security
- then we will strangle economic growth, destroy jobs and reduce our
standard of living. With the national debt above $16 trillion, and with
more than $100 trillion in unfunded liabilities hanging over us, our
toughest fiscal decisions cannot be postponed any longer.

Republicans
are more determined than ever to implement the spending cuts and
structural entitlement reforms that are needed to secure the long-term
fiscal integrity of our country.

The coming deadlines will be the
next flashpoints in our ongoing fight to bring fiscal sanity to
Washington. It may be necessary to partially shut down the government in
order to secure the long-term fiscal well being of our country, rather
than plod along the path of Greece, Italy and Spain. President Obama
needs to take note of this reality and put forward a plan to avoid it
immediately.

Republicans in the Senate at least are signalling three things: One, Republicans expect to get trillions in SS/Medicare/Medicaid cuts, period. Two, they are willing to shut down the government and crash the economy to get these cuts. Three, they want president Obama to provide the specific cuts, so the cuts become his fault.

Such expectations are ridiculous, and Cornyn should be drummed out of the Senate along with the rest of these idiot for trying to accomplish this nonsense. But he's treated as a Serious Beltway Player for this notion.

Paul Krugman reminds us that the notion of any sort of major compromise with the Republican party is impossible, because the only legacy they want to see is President Obama burn for "destroying" Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, and that the plan is for the GOP to then step in and "save" these programs.

According to the normal rules of politics, Republicans should have very
little bargaining power at this point. With Democrats holding the White
House and the Senate, the G.O.P. can’t pass legislation; and since the
biggest progressive policy priority of recent years, health reform, is
already law, Republicans wouldn’t seem to have many bargaining chips.

But the G.O.P. retains the power to destroy, in particular by refusing
to raise the debt limit — which could cause a financial crisis. And
Republicans have made it clear that they plan to use their destructive
power to extract major policy concessions.

Now, the president has said that he won’t negotiate on that basis, and
rightly so. Threatening to hurt tens of millions of innocent victims
unless you get your way — which is what the G.O.P. strategy boils down
to — shouldn’t be treated as a legitimate political tactic.

But will Mr. Obama stick to his anti-blackmail position as the moment of
truth approaches? He blinked during the 2011 debt limit confrontation.
And the last few days of the fiscal cliff negotiations were also marked
by a clear unwillingness on his part to let the deadline expire. Since
the consequences of a missed deadline on the debt limit would
potentially be much worse, this bodes ill for administration resolve in
the clinch.

So, as I said, in a tactical sense the fiscal cliff ended in a modest
victory for the White House. But that victory could all too easily turn
into defeat in just a few weeks.

And it was Obama's "blinking" that set up this victory in the first place, of course, but Krugman won't say that. We'll see where the debt fight goes, but with Republicans saying "We'll wreck the economy unless we get to wreck X and blame Obama for it" and President Obama replying with "the hell you will" I'm betting on the guy with the winning streak for the last 4 years.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Department is being flooded with calls
from concerned citizens about an alleged rape case back in August.

Two Steubenville football players are accused of raping an unconscious 16-year-old girl at a party.

Evidence is now coming forward, like this picture that was posted on
social media, showing two students carrying the alleged victim.

And now, another video is leaked, showing a former Steubenville
athlete, not charged in the crime, but talking about the incident as if
it did happen. He keeps referring to the unconscious victim as being
dead.

The words from this former student are very disturbing.

The sheriff has seen the video and called it disgusting.

Police say they have interviewed the former student seen and heard on this latest videotape, but would not comment any further.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine says the case is moving forward and
the two students arrested on rape charges have a hearing in February.

This is a pretty terrible case, and the way these boys are talking about this young woman is just completely unacceptable. I'm not sure what other evidence is there that may prove one way or another what happened, but this video alone is enough to remind us that American rape culture is very much alive and a real problem for all of us.

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With Republicans controlling the House and Senate and President Obama coming to the end of his second term in the White House, there's still plenty of Stupid to fight on all sides with a crumbling global economy imperiling the world, two seemingly endless wars, a federal government nobody trusts or believes in, global climate change putting us on the brink of destruction and a Village media that barely does its job on even the best day.

Needless to say there's a lot of Stupid out there still coming from both political parties, when we need solutions.

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